The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) warmly welcomes the agreement at the ministerial level reached on November 10 in the negotiations on the establishment of a Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans- Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) accord among eleven countries.

Following the announcement of the withdrawal of the United States from the TPP in January this year, rigorous negotiations for pursuing TPP implementation have been conducted under the leadership of the Japanese government. We take this opportunity to express our deep appreciation for the efforts made in this negotiation process by the Japanese officials concerned.

Improving the business environment, on the basis of common rules created in a wide range of areas such as intellectual property protection and investment and trade facilitation, in order to strengthen international competitiveness is a matter of vital importance to the automobile industry as it expands its global operations. We believe that for the eleven countries concerned, the common rules established under the TPP agreement will provide a structure that will help sustain a high-level value chain in the Asia-Pacific region.

We hope that the consensus on the TPP will also contribute to the progress of free trade by expediting the early implementation of the Japan-EU Economic Partnership Agreement and the conclusion of negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) accord.